Breaking the fall
by The Silent Rumble
Summary: On a case, Tony visits his hometown and gets into contact with his father by mistake. When the team gets done talking to the witness, they come out and Tony’s gone. Why? Where is he? Can they figure out what's happened before it’s too late?
1. Drawing in the sand

_On a case, Tony visits his hometown and gets into contact with his father by mistake. When the team gets done talking to the witness, they come out and Tony's gone. Why? Where is he? Can they figure it out before it's too late? _

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Tony grabbed the paperball and flinted it at Ziva. "Weep!" he shouted, spinning around in his desk chair.

"Tony! Shut up!" hollered. "I cannot take that racket! It is driving me up-sane!"

"Uh, Ziva?" MeGee demanded, looking up from his desk.

"What, MeGee?" she snapped angrily.

"It's insane, not _upsane_."

"Who's upsane?" Gibbs asked, coming down the corner.

"Nobody, boss," Tony called, secretly flinging a rubber band at Ziva. She gave him a dark look as Tony turned innocently turned to his boss. "Yes, sir?"

"Tony, stop throwing rubber bands at Ziva. Ziva, Tony, MeGee," he said, "Get me the car from the garage and pull it up. We're leaving in fifteen minutes."

"Where?"

"We got a lead on the case," Gibbs replied. "Someone was a witness to the marine's killing."

"Why do all three of us have to go? I have a date tonight!" Tony snapped. He loved this job, but he hated working long hours.

"You'd better call and cancel, Dinozzo," he warned.

Tony threw his investigator kit in his backpack and headed towards the car.

"I do have the same question as Tony, though. Why all this time, are we all three going?""

"Just because," Gibbs said simply, cutting her off and walking out, throwing his now-empty coffee cup in the corner.

She sighed, looking up at the walls. "Ahhhhh, Spittysburg."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony looked out the windows of the car. Gibbs was pushing 65 in a 60 mile zone. This was the slowest he had driven in, well, forever.

"Boss?" he asked.

"Yes?" Gibbs snapped back. He was not in the best of moods and he felt a migraine coming on.

"How much longer?" 

"About ten minutes. Can your happy self shut up for that long?" he demanded angrily.

"Maybe, maybe not. Never know, boss," he replied with a smirk.

_Lucky me, _Gibbs muttered.

They arrived at a new development about half an hour later. "Oh, god," Tony whispered to himself. Why the hell were they going back to the home where he had grown up in?

They parked next door to Tony's house. Tony thought he was going to be sick to his stomach. Childhood memories were assaulting him quickly. "Boss?" he asked.

"Yes?" Gibbs replied. He stared at Tony, looking him strait in the eye.

"Um…" Before Tony knew what was happening, someone came to the door.

"You called me about the marine that was murdered," the woman said, inviting them into her house. Tony just stood outside, glancing wearily at the house next door.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Flashback_

"_Be quiet, Anthony. You're a worthless brat!" his father shouted as he roughly slapped the fifteen year old. "I don't give a damn if you get strait B's! That's not good enough. Hell, I want **strait A's**!"_

"_Dad," Tony said, "I got –…" he was interrupted by another blow to the jaw._

"_I don't give a **damn** what you got boy. You did not get all A's! You think Yale is going to take a slacker like you?"_

"_I don't wanna go to Yale," Tony protested. The next thing he knew was the darkness…._

_--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"Is there a problem?" a voice startled Tony's thinking. He looked into the man's face and about passed out. It was his father!

"Tony, what a nice surprise after all these years," his father replied.

"Let me go," Tony said, pulling his arm from out of his father's reach. This only irritated his father more.

"Get in the car," his father hissed.

"What?" Tony gasped.

"You heard me," he replied. "Get. In. The. Car."

Tony swallowed hard. All his fantasies as he grew up of him somehow beating his father in a fight slowly dwindled.

Feeling sick to his stomach, he got into his father's nearby car. "My boss will find me," he said, noticing his father's steal handgun.

"He may be too late."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------MeGee went back outside under his boss's orders. He wondered how much longer Gibbs could survive without another cup of coffee.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. Hadn't Gibbs told Tony to wait outside and see if any _visitiors _came? And where exactly was he, anyway?

He quickly ran out to the front of the house, only to be greeted by a dented car and a small blood spill, but enough for him to assume what happened. "Damn," he muttered, taking a brief moment to look at the sky, "Gibbs is gonna be pissed."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


	2. Secrets Kept, Secrets Hidden

Tony groaned as the man stepped harder on the gas pedal. "Daggone, car, break or something." He knew it wouldn't happen. "Is it not going?" he tried.

His father spat at him and quickly spun the car around, denting the car in the driveway. He swore angrily. "Shut up," he hissed, slamming his elbow into Tony. The door that had been holding Tony against it opened, and he fell out on the street, slamming his head on the pavement.

"Get back in the car," Tony's father replied. When Tony didn't comply, he grabbed Tony by the arm and threw him in the back of the trunk, slamming the lid tight.

"_Good night," _he said teasingly, slamming the trunk before speeding off.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs stormed outside. "What do you mean he's not here? He was here twenty minutes ago."

Ziva studied the house next door for a brief second. "Who lives there? Maybe they know."

"That's Tony's father's house," Gibbs replied. He watched MeGee's and Ziva's mouth drop in utter shock.

"I knew Tony was into money, but I didn't know that he was this… rich," Ziva replied.

"Ziva?" MeGee asked carefully.

"What?"

"You can just say 'loaded.'"

"Maybe he went to visit his dad," Ziva replied.

"Not a chance," Gibbs said. "MeGee, Ziva, take each side of the house. Knock on the door and see if you can get any info. Right now, we have a missing agent, and if this is all a practical joke, I will be **very** pissed off."

"On it," MeGee said quickly.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

_T-thud. T-thud. T-thud. _That was the sound of Tony's body, being tossed around in the trunk. _Who gave this guy his license? He drives worse then Gibbs, _he thought. _Ouch! Then again, I haven't been in the trunk of a car for almost three weeks now… or shot, or injured…_

The last case they had been on a few joy riders came to NCIS at night, as they were finishing up. They hijacked Tony's car and demanded he get in the trunk – with a Mac10.

"Gibbs, I'm going to kill you," Tony vowed silently.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs glared at his coffee cup so hard Ducky thought he had better intervene. "Jethro?" He asked.

"Yes, Ducky?"

"Do we know where Tony is yet?"

"If it had been a practical joke there wouldn't be blood in the yard and he would've shown up by now. I'm taking the liberty to assume this is not a practical joke."

"And what is your gut saying, Jethro?" Ducky knew the man long enough to know about his famous gut, which was, mind you, **never **wrong.

"It's pretty pissed off because my agent is missing. We need to get this sample to Abby, pronto. Hopefully, she can deny it's Tony's."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

**Six hours missing, Abby's lab**

"Sorry, Gibbs. I really can't tell you it's not Tony's. It is Tony's. Why is his blood in the system, anyway?"

"Because he joined NCIS, Abby. What did you think, he had a criminal record, or that I took his blood sample for a joyride?"

"Like those punks last month that took Tony for a forty-six mile joyride in the car that ended up with Tony getting hospitalized?"

Gibbs didn't say anything, he just glared.

"Anyway. Right." She turned and took a sip of her Caff-Pow. "It's definitely Tony's, but it's mixed with a sample. I'm running that one through AFIS now."

"Let me know when you have something," Gibbs barked, walking out the door.

"What, no thank you?" she snapped, turning back to her machine.

"Thank you," he called back simply.

"You're welcome," she called back, straitening her skirt and taking a sip of her second Caff-Pow of the day.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony grunted uncomfortably. "I can't go back there," he thought to himself. "I am so going to kill Gibbs. Didn't I tell him what I went through growing up and tell him not to tell the team? Damn-it, I don't want their pity, not now, not ever, I don't need it, I didn't get it growing up…"

He shifted, trying to rotate the weight on his back. His head felt like it was going to explode. "No, Tony," he told himself. "Can't go to sleep."

"_Maybe just a little bit…" _his brain told him.

"No," he muttered to himself. In about ten minutes, exaustion gave in, and Tony gave in to the darkness.

---------------------------------------------------------------------**A/N: Thank you for all your reviews. I hope this chapter answered some of your questions and I hope you continue to review. I read each and every review, it means the world to me. **

**To answer one reader's question, yes, Gibbs did know that it was the place where Tony lived, but you're about to see how much Tony kept a secret… Get ready to enjoy chapter 3 later this week!**


	3. You stare polietly, right on through

A/N: Thanks for all the awesome, inspiring reviews! Each and everyone who reviewed made my day. Also, this is close after Ziva came to join the team, so the poor lady is getting corrected for her mistakes!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Twelve hours missing**

Ziva glared at MeGee as he sheepishly showed her what was on her computer screen. "I don't get it, MeGee, I don't speak girlish."

"It's _gibberish,_" MeGee snapped. He quickly apologized. "Sorry, Ziva. My nerves are a bit on edge. This is Tony's father… I don't know why, but something told me to look into his past. So I did, and I found several charges against him."

"Charges? Is he in prison? What for?" Ziva asked, unaware Gibbs was right behind her, a worried frown on his face.

"No. Several complaints about Tony showing up to school injured or badly beaten were on there; a lot of suspicious complaints… Looks like Tony's mom called the cops on him one night in a heated battle… Was charged with domestic violence, but the charges were dropped because Tony's mother was apparently unwilling to testify."

"She got scared," Gibbs said out loud.

Ziva jumped out of her skin. "Gibbs! Why did you do that? Have you found Tony, and what is going on?"

"I was here behind you for two minutes. No, I have not found Tony, but it looks like you've already answered why I'm down here."

"Let me guess," Ziva replied, "The unknown blood was Tony's fathers?"

Gibbs nodded. He sighed. "I need to talk to you, Abby and MeGee, in Abby's lab, ten minutes ago. Oh, and go get Ducky." He started to walk off, but was interrupted by Ziva.

"How is it possible for us to get Ducky _and_ get to Abby's lab ten minutes ago? That has already passed, we cannot get back the ten minutes," Ziva said.

MeGee closed his eyes and counted to ten. "Ziva, he means as soon as possible."

"Why couldn't he just say that?" Ziva said, jumping up and walking briskly to the elevator to get Ducky.

"Because it's a figure of speech," MeGee said into thin air. Printing out what he'd learned, he took the elevator up to Abby's lab.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thirteen Hours Missing

Tony winced in pain. He had been shoved roughly in the basement. They had traveled in the car for well over two hours before he had managed to fall asleep.

He glanced around, yanking at the ropes that tied him to the pole. He hated his father, and now he was in the hands of the man he very much despised his whole life, and tried to get away from.

About ten minutes later, there were footsteps down the stairs, and Tony feigned sleep. "He's in here," he heard his father's voice say. He heard soft footsteps – a woman's, maybe?

A soft hand brushed against his cheek. "I do not want to see him in pain… I just wanted you to get him! I wanted to see him."

"It is okay, sweets," Anthony Sr. said, using his pet nickname for Tony's mother, the one he used after fights and to get what he wanted. (We all know what **that** was.) 

"It is okay! You have an NCIS agent tied up in the basement." Even without seeing the look on his mother's face, Tony knew she was upset, because he knew that voice.

"He is our son. It is lawful." _Smack. _Flesh hit flesh, and Tony suspected his father had hit his mother. "Remember, **dear,** he is our own flesh and blood."

"You disowned him," she spat. "You never wanted him."

"You never did either," he replied curtly. This began the usual heated argument. Shifting uncomfortably, Tony moaned and opened his eyes a slit, causing both Dinozzos to turn and look at him.

"Well, well," his father tisked. "Look who's awake. It's our little angel boy."

Tony gritted his teeth so he wouldn't say something he'd regret. It escaped anyway. "Gibbs will find you. He's better then any dad _you_ ever were!" With that, he spat on his father's chest.

His mother's eyes widened in shock as his father grabbed a nearby brick block and hit Tony in the face with it. Tony groaned, and closed his eye for a moment. 'Oh, yeah…. That's gonna leave a mark…' He thought to himself.

"You really think Gibbs gives a damn? He's just your boss. He can easily replace you. Someone wants to move up in the department, probably your friend MeGee, and they'll get your job."

Upon hearing his friend's name, Tony's face froze as he stared straight at his father. "What?" he gasped.

"I've been watching you for the past few months, plotting on how we could still become the perfect family I once dreamed of. I know where your apartment is. I know where Gibbs' apartment is – although he did shoot me for following him, and questioned me."

Tony smirked at that. "He's an ex marine. Hard to break the core, ya'know?" That earned him another blow to the jaw.

To his surprise, he felt his mother undoing his tied hands. "Come, Tony," she said. "We will eat supper soon."

"And," Tony's father said, "so help me if you even **try** to escape, I will grab one of your friends."

Tony swallowed hard. Once his ropes were free, he rubbed at his chaffed wrists and prayed that Gibbs would find him. "So," he said with a forced smile, "what's for supper?"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N: If anyone hasn't figured this out by now, it's AU. By the way, does anyone know the name of Tony's mother? Be in for some more surprises in chapter 4! Hope you al enjoy, and, most importantly, review!**


	4. Here without you baby

A/N: I am soooo sorry for not updating sooner. Had a lot of r/l problems come up. Hopefully, updates can move faster from now on! (Waits for applause…)

A/N2: Also, I'm calling Tony's mother Sophia…

Anyway… Yeah, ch4.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony grew angry at not being able to escape, but he didn't want to escape at his friend's expense. He glanced wearily at his father over the supper table. He hated fondue, and his father knew that (which was probably why he made the fondue.) Each person had his or her own bowl of cheese and bread. While they were eating, Tony glanced nervously out the window, shuffling.

His father was on him in the flash. "Don't even think it, Anthony!" He snapped, grabbing Tony's arm and shoving him up against the wall. Flesh hit flesh, and Tony groaned as he was brutally reminded of his childhood days.

"Stop," Tony grimaced. He wasn't able to talk back to his father when he was younger, but he sure as hell could now.

"Come along, Sophia. We shall leave this bitch to rot," Tony's father spat as he dragged Tony's limp form down to the basement.

"Where are you going?" Tony's mother asked.

"Back to the house. Gibbs will want to speak to me, I'm sure of it."

On hearing his boss's name, Tony's heart froze. "He knows you, you bastard," Tony spat. "I hate everything about you! You deserve to die and have Gibbs torture you to dea-" Suddenly, a piece of tape was stuck over Tony's mouth, and he was silenced, but that didn't stop him from trying to scream through the tape as he was kicked in the face and tied to the bedpost.

"Don't call me bastard," he growled. "I'll be sure to see that one of your friends pays for that."

Tony tried screaming through the tape, but to no avail. His father just slammed the door shut, leaving Tony in the pitch-black darkness.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs threw his empty cup of coffee against the wall. "Why hasn't Tony's father been brought in yet? I requested that fifty minutes ago. I want him in here, ASAP."

"Uh, sir, we have an agent watching his house, but he has yet to appear."

"FIND HIM! MY AGENT IS MISSING, AND I THINK HE TOOK HIM! GET HIM NOW!" Gibbs said. "I'm going to go get another cup of coffee," he said, pausing, looking at MeGee.

"And I will go track down Tony's father," MeGee said nervously.

"Good," Gibbs replied, "get him back here before I get back."

They were at a empty apartment near Tony's house. They had borrowed it for the time being. Gibbs was grumpy because it didn't have the typical layout of an office, but MeGee had insisted there was no way they could fly back and forth every time somebody needed something. Kate had driven back to the office to get some paperwork, files, Gibb's clothes, MeGee's clothes, Jeremy Palmer, and Abby's sample records.

MeGee groaned as Gibbs walked out the door. "I hope he's in for a long coffee break."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So there is ch4. Sorry for so short – I have a lot going on right now and will try and update tomorrow, then once every three days.

thanks a mil for your reviews


	5. Gibbs Meets The Dad

Sorry for not updating so long… again!

Thanks for all the kind reviews. Also, be warned that I'm changing a few things in chapters two and three to make it a bit more realistic.

Catchya around.

A/N: Does anyone know the name of Tony's father? It totally flew from me…

---------------------------------------------------------

Tony sighed as he awaited his father's return. He wasn't sure what to do. Well he knew Gibbs could easily protect the team, what if he collapsed and his father killed one of the NCIS agents? How close, really, were they to the NCIS agents. Well, he said they were going to go talk today.

Tony had told Gibbs about his past. About his father, who'd beaten his mother, but his mother could never get over him, and loved him until the day she died. The mother who loved him died for Tony, she died protecting Tony.

Sophia wasn't his real mother. His father could try and fool them with imitations, but he knew that his father had killed his mother in cold blood.

He'd told Gibbs all that. Gibbs wouldn't believe his father's story. He knew it. He had to believe in it. He had too.

---------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs stared at the man in the interrogation room. "That's Tony's father?" he asked. He had been expecting someone a little more official looking, not some idiot in jeans. He had suspected Tony's father's money was what had kept Tony at the house (from Social Services.)

"What were you expecting? A man in a suet and a woman in dress?" Ziva asked. The parents, too, had enchanted her. She didn't know what to think. Why were they being brought in, and didn't Tony say his mother was dead?

"It's a suit, Ziva." MeGee barely glanced up from the paper. "According to his financial records, he's been falling through the cracks lately. The house is already paid for."

"Why aren't you questioning him?" Ziva demanded. "He could be our one link to Tony."

"Ziva." Gibbs spoke sharply and she turned to face him. MeGee stared at the man, profiling him. "This man has abused Tony since he was a young kid. I have no doubt who took him. Just like you don't. But we have to play it by the rules or this bastard could go free. Are you with me?"

Both Ziva and MeGee nodded.

"Boss," MeGee said, hesitating, "Why do you know he took him?"

Gibbs clenched his jaw and stared at the restless pair. "Tony's real mother died a long time ago. I forget what age he said he was, bit it was too damn young. Anyway, after that his father beat him to a pulp. I read his file from each hospital. Over fifty-six visits in one county; in another county he had twenty-five surgeries. That being said, he's a medical doctor."

"Why didn't he operate on Tony to keep him from looking suspicious?"

"Same reason why FBI won't let you work on missing cases when your kid is missing." Gibbs stared at them. "Don't treat Tony any differently because of this. He'd kill you and you know it."

MeGee raised an eyebrow as Gibbs went into the room. "Why didn't Tony tell me?" They both said in unison. MeGee sighed and shook his head.

Gibbs looked at Tony's father. "Who is that?" he asked, pointing to Sophia.

"This is my wife." He smiled and looked at her. They kissed.

"Tony said his mother died when he was just a child."

"Yes. It was a horrible accident."

Gibb's teeth clenched and he stared at the man. "Tony told me what happened."

"Yes. Horrible accident," Sophia said.

"Were you there?" Gibbs demanded. He didn't know who this Sophia was

Sophia nodded. "She blew up in an explosion." Her dark hair hid her eyes, and Gibbs was unable to see them. Her husband turned and glared at her and Gibbs sighed. He wasn't getting anywhere.

"Funny," Gibbs said, "This report said she was beaten to death."

Tony's father leaned forward. "Well, sir, with all due respect, reports lie," he growled.

Gibbs sighed and bit his tongue. "When was the last time you saw Tony?"

"Twenty years ago when he was eighteen and I shoved him out the door, giving him a fighting chance in the real world," the man lied without flinching. "Why do you ask?"

"He went missing yesterday." Gibbs stared at the main, waiting for his reaction.

He stared at Gibbs. Looking. Waiting. Watching. "That's horrible."

Gibbs flinched. "I want the truth about what happened to your wife."

--------------------------------------------------------

MeGee stared. "Wow, did you just see that?"

"Yeah." Ziva sighed. "This is awful. I never dreamed Ameracaons could be so horrible."

MeGee rolled his eyes and was about to correct her when his cell phone started to ring. He reached to turn it off when he saw it was Abby. "Hey, Abby, what's up?"

"I have a match to some DNA I compared. You need to come to the upstairs room right away."

"What about Gibbs and Ziva?" MeGee demanded. "They'll want in on it too. Especially if it's a lead. You know how Gibbs gets with his leads –" he let his voice trail off, watching as Gibbs looked at the officer in the room.

"Bring Ziva, but not Gibbs. He doesn't need to know that I know… I mean – just get up here now MeGee! I'm going to start crying," Abby said.

"Why?" MeGee said, staring at the phone as if it was contaminated. There was an officer in holding, that wasn't the problem, but still, he was nervous, what if…

"Trust me," she said, looking nervously over her shoulder, as if she expected Gibbs to arrive there any second.

Within a few seconds they were upstairs. "What?" MeGee asked. He stared at her, watching her. She was nervous. Her Caff-Pow remained

"Did you know Gibbs is Tony's father?" Abby asked.

---------------------------------------------------------

R&R please. Okay, I decided to give up on the realistic-ness for the story's sake. Let me know what else I should add. Tony torture, next chapter!


	6. Kidding Me?

Gibbs walked into Abby's lab a few minutes later to find Ducky, MeGee and Ziva all staring intently at the computer screen. Abby was drinking her Caff-Pow. "It's just not possible," Ziva said. She stared at the screen, as if trying to make it say something different. "Abby, tell me your making this up."

"It's you are, Ziva." MeGee corrected her without thinking.

"I could, but I'm not. I agree with you. It's so surreal, unbelievable, impossible."

"What's not possible?" Gibbs asked. Ziva jumped, and everyone looked Gibbs' direction.

"That Tony's your kid." MeGee found the courage to speak up.

Gibbs' mouth dropped open in shock. "Is this your idea of a joke, Abbs?"

"You didn't know?" MeGee, Ziva, and Abby said at once.

"No," Gibbs said. "I did remember having a one night stand with this girl when we were both twenty, but never since then, never since then."

"And Tony's twenty-six," Abby said, mentally calculating it in her head. "So you're forty six, Gibbs?" She was shocked; she had never really thought about how old Gibbs was.

Gibbs glared at Abby. "No, I'm forty-seven. Wow. I didn't even know she had a kid. I mean, we used birth control and… never mind. Who's the lucky mother?"

"Mrs. Vendettas." Abby said, carefully looking at the screen to make sure she pronounced her name right. "Yeah. Mrs. Vendettas. That sounds right. Wait, Mr.…. no. Mrs. V-a-E… _Vendettas,_" she tried, looking over at Gibbs to get his reassurance.

Gibbs sighed. "I remember her…. She must be old now. We need to go question her. ASAP. I want her in this office in five minutes!" He started to stalk up, but then he heard a voice behind him.

"Gibbs, there's kind of a problem with that," Abby spoke up quietly.

"What?" Gibbs asked. He turned to Abby indignantly, cocking his head as if to say, what's _your_ problem?

"She died. When Tony was five." Abby was no doubt nervous bringing this up to Gibbs, but…

"So Tony _was_ adopted." Gibb's fingers clenched and he walked away. "Wait," he said, "this all makes since now."

Everybody looked at him as if he was an alien from mars. "This means," Gibbs said, "that Mrs. Vendettas had Tony; married Tony's father and died."

"Good theory except for one thing, Boss," MeGee said.

"What is it, MeGee?"

" Why didn't it say Mrs. Vendettas on his wife's death report?"

Gibbs cursed and stormed out of the room. Ziva's eyebrows were raised, and even Abby had to admit she'd never seen him this angry.

Ducky sighed. "I'll go after him."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sophia and Tony's father walked out. "Well, that went better then expected." Sophia kissed Tony's father.

"Stay here," Tony's father, James, whispered. "I'm going to go move Tony and come back for you. If anyone asks I took off. Understood?"

She nodded and James hit her, causing her to fall on the ground. "I hate you!" She screamed as he ran off.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony's ears perked up as his father came back into the hideout. "You bitch!" he screamed, slapping Tony with his hand. "You think you know everything, don't you? They found out you were adopted."

Tony's face paled. His father had warned him that if that ever came out he would be dead. He wasn't even sure why his father cared – you'd think he'd be glad to asdmit his son was a looser, a freak, adopted. He guessed it was just one more thing to hold over Tony's head.

"You are going to die," he grumbled as he shoved Tony into a nearby wall, attempting to tie Tony's hands behind his back. "You are also coming with me."

"Never," Tony said, wishing Gibbs was within three feet of the place. He spat on the man's jacket. "Let me go!"

"No," James growled, kicking Tony in the side. He grabbed a knife and tried to use it to stab Tony, but Tony resisted as he was pulled out to the car. Before he got to the car, though, a firm boot was planted into his side. His stomach lurched as he felt James yank off his coat.

"It's c-cold out here," he said, panicking.

"Aww, poor Tony. Shut up and die," he said with a sick smile of satisfaction.

Truthfully, Tony wasn't that cold. He was stalling for time. He must have just come from a press conference with Gibbs, so it was only a matter of time before…

"Let me go!" Tony screamed as he felt something heavy and burning the back of his head. He screamed one last time and escaped into the darkness.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Two hours later Thirteen hours missing_

Gibbs growled as Sophia sat in the interrogation room. "Where the hell is James?" he demanded to Ducky. Ducky had been the only one in the room who looked relaxed enough to answer the question, even though he was watching three hours of security tape. "He can't just be missing like that."

"I don't know, Jethro. We have him on security footage leaving the building. Look," he said with a sigh, "This means we're positive _he's_ the one who took Tony, so get it out of his wife."

Gibbs smiled. "You know what, Ducky? That just gave me an idea." He stalked off.

"Oh, my, Jethro," Ducky sighed as his friend stalked off. He knew Jethro had his head on strait most of the time, but when it came to Tony, the worst could be expected. "Do watch yourself."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys:

Thank you for all your great and inspiring reviews. I know that wasn't a lot of Tony torture, but I'm going to add in some more in the next chapter. I hope this chapter was fairly realistic (considering the circumstances.)

Anyway, your ideas and feedback are always appreciated.


	7. Worth Fighting For

Tony growled as he woke up. His shoulder hissed in pain and it seemed as though he'd found new bones in his body that ached. He swore as he shifted sides. "Great," he muttered. His eyes were tired; all he had to do is close them and go to sleep.

But he couldn't do that. He refused to give in. He refused to give up. He knew Gibbs was looking and it was only a matter of time before he found him. "Damn it, Jethro," he said, mocking Ducky's British accent. "Where are you?"

"I am here," a mock voice called back at him. Suddenly, the lights flew on and he was staring at his father. "D-dad," he said, squirming, trying to get away.

"Don't say it," James snapped. He took off his sweater and smiled. "Oh, Tony, we are in for some _fun_…"

"N-no." Tony struggled to get away. "L-let me go."

"I told you not to ask me that!" James said, grabbing a nearby wrench and throwing it at Tony's already-injured arm. "I specifically said…"

"I don't care." Tony's teeth started chattering and Tony knew it was only a matter of minutes before he could force himself to throw up or create some kind of distraction. Suddenly, James smiled.

He walked upstairs and slammed the door. All Tony heard was, "Hi, Mrs. Vendettas…" before he faded into blessed blackness.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Two hours earlier…_

"No, I refuse. Doesn't he know me? He saw me when he was in interrogation," Ziva said.

"Even if he did, he won't recognize you now," Abby said, "and he definitely will not recognize you when we are finished."

Ziva crossed her arms. "I am wearing too much make-due and lip-up."

"It's makeup and lip gloss, Ziva," MeGee said tiredly.

"Whatever it is, it itches."

"Don't scratch!" Abby said.

"Why not?"

"Because then we have to start all over again!"

Ziva threw up her arms in disgust as Gibbs came into the room. "Not bad," he said, "hopefully he falls for it."

Ziva crossed her arms. "I am officially as mad as ham-burgers."

MeGee had given up on correcting her at this point and just sighed. "We're almost ready."

Gibbs smiled. "And Ziva," he called as he left the room, "Shakespeare didn't eat hamburgers."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Barely able to control her anger, Ziva looked at the man who had abused Tony all his life. She knew she just had to find Tony….

"I thought you died years ago," James said.

"The report was falsified. I have inside sources that say you took my child."

"You gave him up for adoption!" James yelled. "I simply adopted him."

"Yes, and we see what a fine job of taking care of him you did!"

Looking at James's arm, Ziva noticed it was shaking. _Calm down. Calm down. Calm down._

"How did you know to find me here?"

The truth was they'd gotten it out of his wife. But Ziva wasn't going to reveal that. "I have my sources."

"Are you NCIS?"

"Why would I be NCIS?"

"Because they seem to think Tony is an angel and they want him back."

"So you admit, you have him."

"Yes. But what concern is that of yours? _You_ gave him up."

Rolling her eyes, Ziva just smiled. "Yes, but I want him back."

James crossed his arms. "Two-hundred and fifty thousand dollars."

Not noticing that her Israeli accent betrayed her, Ziva snapped. "Okay, you bastard, where did you leave Tony?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs groaned as he watched Ziva on the security camera. "Not good," he muttered. Suddenly, the pin was removed from Ziva's ear, and the camera went blank. "Damn," Gibbs cursed. "MeGee, call in backup."

"They're about ten minutes away."

"Tell them to get here faster!"

MeGee just sighed and dialed the number.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ziva removed her hair and shoes as she watched James's gun nervously. "I thought you seemed, _odd."_

Ziva just smiled. "Where is Tony?"

"He is missing."

"Well I gathered that!" She spat.

He sighed. "Come with me." She started to follow him, gun at her side, when he suddenly turned around and shot her in the ankle. She doubled over in pain and he took that moment to tie her to the table ledge, duck-taping her mouth so she could not scream. "I'm very sorry to do this too you," he said, quickly wrapping her leg in an ACE bandage.

He ran downstairs and grabbed Tony, quickly dragging up the stairs. Ziva had her look at the wounded NCIS agent. He was a little rough for wear and it looked like his arm was broken. That was all she saw when he dragged him outside.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gibbs, MeGee and SWAT arrived in the house twenty minutes later. SWAT cleared the premises leaving Gibbs with a very frustrated Ziva and no Tony.

"I am very sorry, Gibbs," she said, tears running down her face.

"It's not your fault," Gibbs said. Ziva sat on the ambulance. Gibbs sighed. "I shouldn't have sent you in; that was my fault, you were probably right about him recognizing you."

"Did you get a look at Tony?" MeGee asked, startling them both.

"Yes," Ziva said, composing herself as MeGee pulled out his sketchbook. "He was wearing blue jeans, a red t-shirt and a dark gray hoodie. His arm was slightly bent and he had a bruise on his face. I also noticed that he had a severe burn next to his ear. Everything else was 'curved up,'" she said.

"Covered," MeGee corrected automatically. "Sorry," he apologized at Gibb's withering look. "Like this?" he asked, flashing a picture of Tony two minutes later.

"The bruise was a little larger," she said, "And a little darker."

MeGee frowned and erased it. "Like this?" he tried.

"Yes, that's exactly it!" She said.

Gibbs grunted and sipped his coffee. "I want that on all news stations at the twelve o'clock news."

"Gibbs, it's ten-thirty."

"Better get working quick," Gibbs replied, tossing his coffee cup into the trash can.

"Back to life as normal," Ziva sighed, limping to a nearby chair and sitting down.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs. Vineyard looked out the window at the NCIS agents. She knew who they were after; but she wasn't sure what to do. She knew where James was headed; after all; he'd asked her for directions the day before.

Sighing, she stepped out of the way of her curtains and looked outside at Jethro, the man she'd had a one-night stand with nearly twenty-two years before.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Hope you all liked it! Please r&r – something you've all been doing so great with! If you'd send any suggestions through PM, I'll consider them all (except alien abductions.)

Thanks!


	8. Mrs Vandettas

Tony glared at his father. They'd switched locations, _again_. His father had forced some sleeping pills in his mouth, and off they went, with Tony riding in the trunk. Tony wondered where he was now. For all he knew, he could still be in the same place, but he doubted it.

"Dammit," he hissed, sitting up. He was definitely in pain. "Ouch, ouch, ouch… bad idea…" he muttered. He laid back against the wall. "Crap it!"

He couldn't sit anywhere. His head ached, his body was beaten and bruised, and he had virtually no use of his fingers – they were too numb from the cold.

Speaking of cold, the basement he was in was freezing. He pulled the flannel over him tighter. It was so cold, his breath showed in the air.

"Gibbs," he whispered, "find me, please…"

--------------------- line ----------------------------

"Excuse me, who the hell are you?" Gibbs snapped, glaring at the woman on the sight. "This is a live crime scene. Did you or did you not see all the tape wrapped around here that says LIVE CRIME SCENE?"

MeGee looked at Ziva, who glanced at him and shrugged. Both watched the mysterious woman.

"Yes, and you're in it," she retorted.

"Yes, and I'm Navy NCIS. I have clearance."

"Navy NCIS… Finally ditched that job at the grocery store, huh, Jethro?" she snapped.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Gibbs snapped.

"You don't remember me? I'm offended, but I'm not shocked. I guess you can't remember all the people you've had sex with."

MeGee's mouth dropped open, and Ziva glanced at him. She whispered, "Do you think that's Mrs. Vandettas?"

"I don't know, but I don't think Gibbs is very happy about seeing her," MeGee remarked.

"Well, no duh, MeGee. What gave that away? His face, or his volume?"

"WHO ARE YOU!" Gibbs yelled again. The woman didn't recoil, but smiled.

"I'm Mrs. Vandettas. You know, the woman who birthed Tony?" she said, smirking.

Gibb's mouth dropped open. "You aren't Mrs. Vandettas. She died."

"You're right. I'm Mrs. Charleston now, but I didn't die. I married, but then I divorced. So I'm back to being Mrs. Vandettas, Tony's mom. Moved here when Tony was only five so I could keep an eye on him."

"Fine job you did," Gibbs spat angrily. "You protected him really well."

"I tried to file a claim of child abuse, but they arrested me for falsifying a report," she snapped. "I did a hell of a lot more then you anyway."

"I didn't even know Tony was my child until a few days ago," Gibbs said. He turned and glared at Ziva and MeGee. "My workers did some 'investigating' on me, and informed me that."

"Why are you here, at his house?"

"Because Tony's missing," Gibbs said.

Mrs. Vandetta's mouth dropped open. "Missing? I bet I know who did it," she said.

"Yeah, yeah. His father."

Ziva glanced at MeGee. "Any wonder why these two didn't marry?" she asked.

"No comment," he said. 

LINE++++++++++++++++++

Tony glared at his father when his father came back in. "What will make Gibbs back off the case?" he asked.

"Nothing," Tony said with a smirk. Finally, he had a power over his father. "You stole his agent; he's coming back with revenge."

Tony's father swore angrily, and then glared at him. "Fine. Maybe he'd like a call, informing him to back off."

Tony chuckled. "I think you misunderstood Gibbs. He doesn't 'back off.'"

Tony's father handed him the phone. "Dial Gibbs's number or I'll break your fingers one by one," he said.

"I think they're already broken," Tony said, groaning as he dialed Gibbs' number slowly.

Tony's father filled with rage and slapped him across the face before taking the phone. "Hello, is this Gibbs?"

LINE

Gibbs hastily spoke into the phone, motioning for MeGee to track it. "Yes, it is. Cas I ask who's speaking?"

"This is Tony's father. I believe we've met. Anyway, I've called to say, that if you don't back off, your agent will die," he said.

"Wait, hold on," Gibbs said, trying to keep the man on the line for as long as possible.

"What do you need to do? Write it down?" Tony's father laughed. "Bye-bye."

"We got a trace," MeGee said excitedly. "He wasn't using a very secure line."

line

sorry so long without an update.

Hope ya'll like.


	9. I Know You

_Sorry for the long time without an update. Life has been really rough the last couple of weeks so bear with me, thanks._

_Also, please note that this is written when Ziva _first_ joined NCIS, so she's still new to America and everything._

_---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

"Trace, MeGee?" Gibbs barked. He was always more strict when he was feeling emotional.

"Yeah. It was connected too a…" MeGee glanced at the paper – "a storage unit." MeGee gave his boss the address, phone number, and a rundown of the area before Ziva even blinked.

"Let's go," Gibbs barked as he gathered his car keys and his spare gun.

"What about me?" Mrs. Vendettas said. "I gave you damaging information!"

Gibbs glared at her as if she was a dog who'd just messed up the rug. "You let Tony be abused for years and did nothing about it. I don't really give a _damn_ about your _damaging_ information."

"But I told you, I talked to the police! They blew me off, Gibbs! I was _arrested_, for crying out loud!"

"You could have come to me. You could have called every police agency until you got someone who cared. But you just sat back and didn't do a damn thing after trying one station. If one person doesn't believe you, you go to another person."

"Do you want me dead or something?" She screamed. "And let us not forget, you were busy all the time!"

"You had a number. There is such a thing as leaving a message. Also, I never knew I had a kid," he spat angrily. "I'm just as guilty as you are. I should have – I don't know. Ziva, MeGee, get _in_ the car. We're going – _now_!"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tony was lying down on the cold and vacant floor of – whatever it was, he wasn't sure. He looked like he was asleep to the untrained eye, but he was really awake. Wide-awake. He wanted to get out of the basement and he wanted to see Gibbs, Abby and MeGee again. He even wanted to see Ziva.

His father had dropped him off like a sack of potatoes and said he'd be back for him in awhile and if he caught him sleeping he'd give him a beating like he'd never felt before in his life. So Tony tried to stay awake. He knew he needed sleep – any idiot knew sleep was what made a fever go away, but he didn't want a beating.

The voice in Tony's brain told him that he could go to sleep, that it was OK. Tony still refused, but after awhile, he lost the battle and fell asleep for awhile. When he came back to reality, his dad was still gone (a blessing Tony silently thanked the heavens for).

Although he struggled to stay awake, he drifted in and out of consciousness. Realizing that he was fighting a loosing battle he went to sleep, praying all the meanwhile that his father wouldn't come in.

When he awoke again his throat was sore and scratchy and he wondered if his father had left him here to die. Realizing that was a very real possibility, he started struggling with the ropes, grateful they were somewhat loose. His father probably had Ray, his hired helper, tie them.

"_Damn!"_ Tony swore as he thought of Ray. He wondered if Ray was helping his father escape criminal prosecution. Ray was a lawyer – a crooked lawyer. If it made money… he did it.

Tony finally struggled out of the ropes. He wasn't sure how long it took but it had to have taken at least five or six hours, because a few of his fingers were still broken. The ones that weren't were achy.

He groaned when he saw his next obstacle – a locked door. It should have been easy. All Tony had to do was flip the switch. But because his fingers were so bruised, broken and battered, he knew it would take awhile. He was finally able to use his two none-broken fingers and get it, but he was willing to guess that took another two hours. He really had no idea of the time, though – his father had robbed him of his watch, and without it, he was useless at telling time.

He grunted in pain and finally sank down next to the door. He couldn't lift it up with a broken arm. He was close to tears when he finally decided to ask for strength. He didn't know who, but he called out to anyone who would listen.

"_Is anyone there?"_ he yelled. His voice, still scratchy and hoarse, so he was sure nobody heard him. "_Is anybody there_?" he screamed it another two times.

Someone was outside. Tony backed away from the door as it rolled open – and he came face-to-face with his father's partner, Ray.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_Sorry so short, but I figured that a short update was better then no update at all. Expect an update soon, this time, hopefully longer. _

Ta-Ta for NOW


	10. A lead?

Tony swore

Tony swore. He was so close, yet so far; he couldn't believe this was happening. Wasn't this nightmare due to be _over_ sometime soon? Didn't life owe him at least that much?

Ray picked his arm out and dragged Tony's limp body out to the car. Tony's eyes closed. He knew Gibbs was probably only a little bit away, but he was quickly loosing hope for rescue. His body was giving in. He knew he shouldn't sleep, but that was all he wanted to do.

"Thanks to you, your father might actually get arrested," Ray snapped as he locked the door. He didn't bother to tie Tony's hands; it was obvious that by now the man would have no energy to escape. Besides, all of Tony's fingers were broken, so it wasn't as if he could open the door.

Tony gasped as his body fell on the floor. _Gibbs, find me, _he begged, tears welling in his eyes.

**0202020212120212020202020202020**

Though the office people were about ready to give up on Tony, Gibbs refused. Abby, MeGee, and Ziva also refused. Gibbs had often confided to Abby in private that "Tony would make a good marine because he's so damn suborn."

The office lead hadn't turned out to be a dead end. They'd found traces of Tony's blood at the scene, which meant Tony had been there. Gibbs had also found tire tracks, which he hoped to be able to link to the car that was there.

Tony's father had been released on a 200,000 bail, something that made Gibbs furious. He knew if he had longer to question Tony's father, the man would eventually tell him where Tony was.

"Hey, Gibbs!" Ziva ran into the room. "I got some news!"

MeGee and Gibbs bolted from their seat. "We got a call from someone," she said. "She says she saw Tony being dragged into her neighbor's house. She described this man," Ziva said, flipping to the image of Tony's father, "helping another man drag him in. It's a white male, about forty our so, she thought she heard the name 'Ray.'"

Gibbs swore angrily. "I know who she's talking about. I don't know why it didn't occur to me before. Get Abby. We're going. Now!"

**0202020212120212020202020202020**

_Hey! Sorry for so long without an update. Here's a short tidbit. Hopefully I can update more later. The story will soon be finished. Thanks for hanging in there. _


End file.
